Miami Collection
You know those friends you have that enjoy the same things as you? Or have different interests, but ones that you find interesting anyway? Those friends are perfect to travel with. Courtney, who is featured in two of the paintings from the Miami Collection, and I live in different states (her in NY, and me in NC). So instead of just visiting each other, we take trips together. We tend to want to do the same things, so traveling together is easy. When vaccines became available and everything started to open again, we planned a trip to Miami.
Courtney had given up her lease in Brooklyn and was renting airbnbs all around Miami, trying to decide if she could see herself moving there. I found a great flight deal & headed down for a long weekend. It was one of the first times I had gotten to travel since quarantine started. The weather was just starting to get really warm, and it was beginning to feel like summer. My excitement on getting to travel after the past year or so of quarantine was similar to how I felt hearing that last school bell before summer started.
Since Courtney had been in Miami for a few weeks, she had a few favorite spots she showed me. We spent days in the sun at the beach, evenings eating good food, and danced through the night. We also threw in some art galleries and gardens along the way. It truly felt like having a 3 day sleepover with a best friend in high school - talking about all the girly things, eating way too much, and taking too many pictures.
After finishing up my City Lights Collection, I started scrolling through my phone to get inspiration on what to paint next. I kept coming back to the photos I took in Miami because of the feelings behind them. They were so different from the City Lights Collection, which is dark and moody. These were bright, free, and fun. They are everything summer should be, and everything I wanted to feel at the moment.
Each painting has a story behind it that I will share with you. You’ll be able to find them in the descriptions of the paintings when they go live July 28th at noon (or 10AM for those on the Collector’s List!), or on instagram in the weeks following the release. I want to walk you through our trip so you can feel the freedom of summer too.
